Academic Freedom at the Dawn of a New Century: How Terrorism, Governments, and Culture Wars Impact Free Speech (review)

The U.S. government responded to the attacks of September 11, 2001 in ways that would seem to directly inhibit the work of university professors, constraining the expression of ideas, access to information, means of government funding, recruiting international students, or other activities associated with traditional academic freedom protections. These and additional external pressures, such as those from conservative advocacy groups, can also promote faculty self-censorship. The situation in the rest of the world generally presents an even greater challenge to academic freedom. At best, the concept involves balancing measures intended to protect societies against the threat of terrorism with maintaining the civil liberties in which the freedom to inquire or teach is embedded. At worst, it can be no real freedom of expression within a society, threats of or actual violence against faculty working in controversial areas, and even the need for faculty to flee countries with repressive regimes.

In Academic Freedom at the Dawn of the New Century: How Terrorism, Governments, and Culture Wars Impact Free Speech, Evan Gerstmann and Matthew J. Streb offer chapters on contemporary challenges to academic freedom both in the United States and abroad. The book offers an unexpected conclusion: that "academic freedom in the most obvious sense was upheld after September 11. A few problems emerged, but almost all were handled in a satisfactory manner" (p. 16). So, the axiom that September 11 "changed everything" might not really apply to academic freedom, at least to the extent that one might fear. The editors do caution, however, that U.S. academics must remain vigilant in protecting academic freedom and against becoming insular in a world that demands the opposite.

The book explains the complicated concept of academic freedom quite well, and the introductory chapters could be of use to those teaching courses involving the subject. Streb offers a thoughtful discussion of the importance of academic freedom, a defense continued by Timothy C. Shiell in advancing its strong conception based on civil libertarian ideals. He nicely places the principle in opposition to a more limited standard of faculty as public servants first and commentators second, as well as an approach privileging an inclusive campus climate even at the expense of inquiry and expression. In his foreword, David M. Rabban offers a cogent explanation of the basis for academic freedom in the United States, focusing on the American Association of University Professors' (AAUP) Declaration of Principles of 1915 and the Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure that clarified it in 1940. The declaration articulates the principle that professors cannot be dismissed for performing their professional functions, even if the results are disagreeable to those offering employment. The 1915 declaration and 1940 statement, incorporated into the governing regulations of most institutions, nevertheless afforded little protection during the McCarthy era in the 1940s and 1950s. At its most interesting, the book asks, in effect, whether a return to such persecution is as likely as the post–September 11 political and cultural environment would suggest.

The response is generally optimistic. Supported by a 2003 AAUP report, Rabban argues that because the courts responded by integrating academic freedom into the First Amendment, there has not been a repeat of McCarthy-era suppression. Robert M. O'Neill and Donald A. Downs contend that responses to expression by faculty and students perceived to be unpatriotic following September 11 were often negative and perhaps even threatening, but these individuals were not punished by the government or their institutions in the end. Like Rabban, O'Neill attributes this to judicial doctrine advanced since the 1950s, and Downs adds that various First Amendment advocacy organizations also serve to protect academic freedom. Downs suggests that these organizations might be even more important than the courts in doing so. In short, formal academic freedom protections remain intact despite calls grounded in...